Reprise
by author2be3
Summary: One shot I came up with before finals week. A stranger comes to speak with Fakir on the outcome of his adventure with Duck at the end of the story. Slight Fakir/Duck


A/N: Well I did not intend on writing until after finals week, (which is next week) but I couldn't help but write this down.  
I don't know what this is exactly, but I would love input!

I don't know who "I" is, but maybe you can figure that out for me. Let me know!

* * *

Fakir and I watch Duck lazily float around on the lake. It's almost hard to imagine that that cute yellow waterfowl was once a girl.  
I notice Fakir start to clench his fists, the longing in his eyes as he watches her paddle around.  
That's when it clicks.

"You fell for her, didn't you?" I mumble.  
Fakir looks at me, then looks away.  
"You know you could just as easily turn her into a girl again with your ability." I say

Fakir scoffs, "You have no idea the dangers that entails."  
"What are you talking about?"

"This power very easily leads to corruption." He says flatly, "The moment I use this power for my own selfishness is the first step towards me becoming like Drosselmeyer."  
"Well I don't see how that could happen?" I say trying to skip a rock.

"Look at it like this. What if I turn her into a girl simply because I want to be with her. Well what's stopping her from not feeling the same way? She never said anything about liking me more than a friend, so who's to say she doesn't feel the same. Fine, I can just change that with the scratch of a pen on paper. Now she likes me, but where's the humanity in that?"

I shake my head, "That's a big 'if' to go on."

"I know that, but my point is that when I start using this ability only for myself, how long will it take before I become manipulative and selfish like Drosselmeyer? How do I keep that from happening?"

I shrug my shoulders, "What if you just don't make his mistakes?"  
"Exactly," Fakir snaps his fingers, "So what were his mistakes?"

I give him a questionable look.  
"He used his power for his own gain and people into things they are not. Turning Duck back into a girl is both selfish and turning her into something she's not. I won't do that to her, regardless of how much it hurts me."

"But that's not fair!" I protest.  
"Now who ever said life was fair?" Fakir smirks, "The right thing isn't always what we want."

"But what if Duck wanted to be human too?" I retort.

"Regardless if she wanted to be a girl again or not, she would still be pretending to be something she's not. How much difficulty would she have relating to people? Although it's hard to believe, she had a hard time talking to people on a personal level because she hadn't been human for that long. For the most part, she'd be alone."

"No she wouldn't!" I say hastily, "You two would have each other."  
Fakir smiles at this, "There is more to life than romantic love. Friendship is also an important part to life. And the only best friend she had flew off into the sunset with the man she had crushed on for so long."

"But with how likeable she is, she's bound to find another best friend!"

Fakir shakes his head, "She could never be completely honest or open with them because no sane person would believe she was once a duck. She'd be lying almost all the time about her life. How painful would that be on both ends? If she lived like that, she'd soon forget how to be honest with even herself, leaving her to be even more alone than ever before. Duck could never handle that. And she most certainly doesn't deserve that. Does this make sense?"

I'm quiet for a moment, trying to take all this in. Hearing this makes me frustrated. Why not take the risk? But then I think of what Fakir says…

Yes, he really did love Duck, the girl who never should have existed. But Duck the bird was happy to just be her real self, regardless of the feelings she may or may not have for the writer I'm sitting next to.

"Yes it does. Although I wish it wasn't how it had to be, this is the best and safest outcome for you both.  
Thank you…"

I get up and walk away off to the next place that catches my heart and imagination and be open to the unwanted joys and pains that may come.


End file.
